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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: key · face · present · saw · wound · spell · pound · march

  1. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. This piece is in a major ________________.
  4. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  5. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  6. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  7. He works in a ________________ mill.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  14. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  15. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  16. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  20. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. We ________________ up on opposing sides.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. key — for a lock
  2. spell — a short time
  3. key — in music
  4. march — the month
  5. wound — an injury
  6. present — the time now
  7. saw — the tool
  8. spell — magic
  9. wound — an injury
  10. present — there
  11. face — to confront
  12. present — a gift
  13. face — to point toward
  14. pound — a weight
  15. saw — past of 'see'
  16. key — the most important part
  17. spell — letters
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. pound — for dogs
  20. march — the month
  21. march — music
  22. saw — the tool
  23. face — part of the head
  24. wound — past of 'wind'

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com